Fiat 500e EV Roadtrip: Better 3 years on?
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 4 ธ.ค. 2022
- Frustration was the key word back in 2019, when I took the Jaguar I Pace up to Scotland. This time, a mere 340 miles in a Fiat 500e. Will I get charger blocked? Will the chargers even work? Will it actually be enjoyable? Let's find out! Car provided by Onto neon.ly/hubnut though this video is not sponsored.
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I didnt realise locations were divided between 'Aberystwyth' and 'The rest of the world' 😂 Thanks Ian 😊
That only applies within the gravity well of Aberystwyth. It's the principle of Topographical Relativity.
@@michaelwright2986 Ah! (here goes) That explains the Aberystwyth time dilation effect when within its area or 'Topographic Ocean'. 😁 Hey it sounded fine to me as a fan of a certain prog rock group.....
Great video Ian! You’ll always get people moaning about EV’s but it’s nice to see you’re adding that element to the channel so people who are looking to buy one have an honest review
I've no particular problem with electric cars (there are clearly pros and cons, environmentally), but I do have a problem with the way they're being introduced in the UK: less wealthy people are being shafted. Not only are they going to have to pay more for their vehicles, but those with less money are less likely to have driveways where you can charge your car. So, they pay more for charging, plus they have to spend an hour or more a week charging their car. Do you have that free time?
Electric cars are only reasonable if the government invests so that there are chargers on the street outside flats so that these people can charge their car overnight too. But hey, that's capitalism: the wealthy will be fine and that's all that matters. Regular people can just lose even more of their time - as if we don’t spend enough time working.
Plus, if you buy a new car every - let's say - 50,000 miles, you're not being environmentally friendly, no matter how it is powered. The biggest problem - as with all consumption - is buying new things.
@@julianevans9548 That's why we have freedom of choice ! city users will need the best EV options, as ian said it's not a viable option for most people !
EV are a crock of shit. Until they have more effective and SAFE batteries and the charge is produced by zero CO2 - they are for the 'sheep' that think they are saving the world by driving a EV. Great in 'theory' - in real world practical terms, they are a marketing fad. Yes - we need to reduce CO2, but current EV technology is truly a crock of shit. And all you people that purchased one and that get their feeling hurt -I could not give a fuck - facts remain facts even if chosen to be ignored. And stupid people are everywhere. HA - unfortunately - a fact.
Your road test accurately reflects my experiences of EV ownership particularly when attempting long journeys. You don’t realise what range anxiety means until you are running round Liverpool at night with the battery below 10%. It’s happened to me twice this year and is a scary experience.
Yeah…who wants the faff…it’s not a hobby for me, I just want to get there and back.
I've only had range anxiety once on this trip which, given the terrain and remoteness here, doesn't seem bad. I knew that drive would be tight.
Tbf I get anxiety just being in Liverpool in the dark
@@peterhurst I agree, don’t know which was more scary, trying to find a fast charger in Toxteth at night or the fact that I was about to run completely out of range.
@@HubNut you caused that by not fully charging the battery when you had the opportunity
"Apologies for the fact it's dark, but it's dark". A wonderful piece of Hubnuttery Ian and one of the reasons we love your channel.
I wonder how much weight EV drivers gain in a year? All that stopping for pies and coffee! Enjoying the video's 👍
And then that buggers your range with extra weight, so you stop more often to recharge, and eat more pies, thus reducing your range even more, 🍟🥧🥧🍰 you can never win
From experience for the past year, 0 weight gain : )
At £7 for a tea and sandwich, I would not be gaining much weight, I can tell you that for sure !!
Money they are saving not buying petrol/diesel they spending on coffee/tea instead 😅
Well my cousin has had her 500e since 2016 and she’s actually lost weight.
From experience, the cost of EV charging on the road is mainly determined by the food you consume from the locations nearby 😉
If you charge at a Lidl do not go inside!
@@davidquinn5906 except when you're actually there for shopping 😆
Nice to have a HubNut video to watch after a rubbish day. Thanks Ian
I hope tomorrow is better for you
@@Paradox0182 Thank you
Interesting video, I appreciate that you say it's not for everyone and a truer statement I have not heard. What a kerfuffle!
This looks like a total pain to me.
It’s really not. It makes driving long distance so much nicer.
"Some people like this lifestyle" - Sat round in car parks waiting - Doggers.
Why do you think the lights stay on?🤣
I would imagine the last 20% is mainly balancing the packs and cells within the packs, that is why it takes so long. Although the cells will leave the factory nicely matched, in service they soon start to vary their discharge rates and recharge rates. In theory, the older an EV gets, the longer the process of balancing the cells will take. Sadly unavoidable when a system is made up of hundreds, if not thousands of separate cells.
Ian. You're driving a Fiat. Or as we say in the trade Fix it again Tony 😂
@@iananderson1422 My wife and I have owned several Fiats, independently and together over many years. None have ever broken down or given any trouble and have only ever required normal service replacements of consumable items. Presently we very happily drive a Panda 4x4 diesel done 30,000km and overall fuel consumption 5.3L/100km. Successfully pulled a Peugeot 5008 4x4 SUV out of an icy muddy hole. Happily cruises at 130km/hr for hours on end.
The fact that the battery has gone out of balance after so few charge cycles is a major red flag. That indicates there are under performing cells in what should be
a perfect balanced pack. It hints at much lower grade cells being used, but one thing is for certain, it will not get better over time.
@Retired Bore this. Even a single cell will take 50-100% longer to fill up the final 20% capacity, just due to electrolyte and electrode saturation. Nothing to do with rebalancing at all
@@iananderson1422 I don't own a Fiat and never have but the last time I looked at the reliability index for Warranty Direct, Fiats were more reliable than Volkswagens, BMW, Mercedes etc. Along with Peugeots they were the most reliable European cars with Fords and Skoda not far behind.
Sometimes stereotypes stick for far longer than they should.
I have range anxiety just watching Ian😱😱
Very interesting and informative content Ian, you answered a lot of questions and shared a real time, real situation experience which you seldom get from electric car reviewers who read out a stack of data straight from the manufacturers press release but seldom a normal ' day in the life ' . Very good.
Yes it was an excellent account, I haven't watched HubNut productions much but shall from now on.
Despite the fact my annual automobile budget is less than 2 months subscription to this 500E, I`m still finding this series interesting, & I care not what alarmist Daily Mail readers have to say about it. 😁
Whilst it wouldn't suit many of my use cases, an EV like this would make a great run about second car for most of the day-to-day scenarios, especially as I would be able to charge at home.
I just wish I could afford it!
The need to plan ahead is what complicates things although as the network coverage increases it should become less of a problem.
Planning isn't all that difficult. There are even apps like "a better route planner" which can give the most efficient route and list charging stations along the way.
@Paul Fellows like I say, personally I'm yet to "need" to charge on a journey. I plug in if I'm taking a break anyway or when I'm shopping. Besides, there are always alternatives even if they're not your preferred network.
@@paulfellows2604 or worse by some prat with an ic engine.
Robert Llewellyn (aka Kryten) has had a good set-up at his home for 12 years with his Leaf. Solar panels and a battery wall. Free motoring after initial costs. With todays prices, you should be able to recoup your investment pretty quickly.
so driving these cars is like working with a 15 year old laptop
Your experiences with the Fiat 500e match my own, right down to the average of 4 miles per KWh with a degree of restraint. Due the the lack of rapid chargers on Scotland's trunk roads, I have never used a public charger after a year of EV ownership and probably never will!
I've got it up to 4.6 miles per kWh now! And that's without really changing my driving style - just shows what a few more long journeys do for economy.
What is the average cost for 1 KWh of charging?
I'm with you on that. We probably will never have an EV but if we did then a home charger would be essential
@@rheinerftvideo2647 My solar PV system provides around 2/3 of the electricity I put into the car over the entire year, so the cost per KWh is about 11p.
Most people charge overnight at a reduced rate provided by their energy provider, and I understand a typical rate for this is 12-15p per KWh.
@@briangriffiths114 15 pence? That sounds cheap. Over here in Germany 1 KWh is 43 Eurocent from the public charger, and it could get even higher in future.
I´m not going into E-cars, maybe in 5 years or so.
Anyone else want a Sherpa mode which, transformers style turns your car into a rusty 1970s van followed by a cloud of diesel smoke?
On Saturday in the early hours we got a call to say that a relative in deepest France was very ill. We got in the car, bombed it to the Eurotunnel, then 400 miles through France. We managed to get there to be with the relative when he died, 30 minutes after we arrived. With the current shitty EV infrastructure, range and charging time we would have missed his final moments.
A car should get you where you need to be as QUICKLY as possible.
Absolutely spot on. The whole point of a motor vehicle is to get you/your passengers/cargo to its destination as quickly as possible. How is it "progress" to not be able to do something that you used to?
Loved the video, thank you!
I had a 40kwh leaf for 4 years and 45k miles and for 80% of trips in to london (work) it was fine. Decent enough to drive and with enough range, but the charging time on a road trip quickly became annoying. Battery health also dropped to about 88% when i got rid of it
I fairly regularly have to do 120 miles round trip to guildford which needed 1 charge of 20 mins to be safe and also loughborough, which in a Petrol is about 280 miles and 5 hours, in a leaf this became 7.5 or more depending on chargers with 3 stops (heat was also a problem for the leaf)
And it cost 25k....
in a few years, the charging network will be better and electric cars will be able to go a genuine 250 miles on a tank, and that is when think it will be for me again - cant fault the driving experience of electric but the charging is painful and the silly gadgets are annoying - cruise control and limiter are good, others not so
Your good real world experience is very valuable so thanks for sharing.
Can I be rude and ask what sort of loss did you bear on the Leaf with it's degraded battery? Interested to know how it's depreciation compares with comparable ICE cars.
@@philiptownsend4026 I think i got about 17k from Cazoo, not quite sure how much i paid after the government discounts etc. Cazoo didn't ask about the battery or check, and it still showed a full battery bar on the car as i think the first bit goes after 87% or 86% (go figure).
I now have a ULEZ golf for £1000 and paid off the loan - must admit that i am missing the preheating capabilities of the leaf now though
What "silly gadgets" that get annoying for example are you referring to, if I may ask?
@@GoldenCroc Electronic auto folding mirror's (almost failed after 2 years, then just left out), lane departure warning on non motorways (i think it is decent on motorways), automated breaking (i had a number of false emergency stops for this) and the app. On the flip side speed limiter was good but not limited to EV's and the pre heating was outstanding (when the terrible app worked)
Another thing to thing about an EV's range is the range anxiety that Ian mentioned in the video - if the car says it will do 140 miles, it will probably do 120 miles once you take in to account weather, doing more than 60mph and hills etc, but then you wouldn't want to get to the destination with zero miles and the charging infrastructure is not great so realistically you will start planning for a charger at about 30 miles (unless you are heading home), so the 'real' 140 miles of range in the leaf is more like 90 or 100 miles of useable range. If this is enough for 95% of your driving the leaf is ideal.
You get used to the mileage the car can do and the anxiety does improve, but its always in the back of your mind on a long trip
Ian, I don’t think you have mentioned that Fiat have half Allegro-ed the steering wheel 😂
I have been using FIATs "fiddly wiper controls" for about 30 years now (since the first Tipo) and I can confirm that you can operate them blindfolded after a short period of getting used to them. I think they're ideal.
We've had several Fiats over the years and all have been excellent cars. We presently have a Panda 4x4 diesel and are very satisfied with it after 3 years. We have cold winters here and it's performance on ice and snow on compulsory winter tyres is amazing to a first time 4x4 owner driver. If I see drivers stuck in these conditions I offer to pull them out and never failed yet.
One of my early cars was a Panda 750 fire. That thing got thrashed and thrashed and never ever gave a single problem. I had very little mechanical sympathy back then but it took it well. The seats could lay flat and everything. Great little car.
@@siraff4461 I remember we bought a 500 some years ago, mainly for my wife but I used it too occasionally. During the buying process I asked to look at the FIRE engine and the salesman was shocked. He was much more interested in showing us Bluetooth phone connection...
Over three years it performed well except drivers door handle went faulty and Fiat produced a kit to fix the known weakness.
I replaced the front brake pads once and wasn't at all impressed by the tiny brakes.
Our current Panda 4x4 has much more power and is an all round much more substantial car.
I quite fancy a 500X next
That looked like a lot of fun. I'm genuinely envious but in a good way.
Brilliant stuff, very enjoyable, viewing.
Great little road trip Ian, much more relaxing than the Ipace you took to Stirling, the more I watch of EV's the More I would consider one, through my favourite at the moment is the MG4, but the little 500 is a close second.
MG4 looks superb, and is a fair bit cheaper than the Fiat..
An excellent advert for ICE. Thank you!
I would really like to know how much these journeys actually cost. Including all the teas and sundries that is spent whilst waiting on a charge. It would be interesting.
On that trip, I spent a total of £10 on food and drink. On the return, I wisely bought my food at a Co Op before setting off...
I often think that on these EV road tests. As if buying over priced coffees and sandwiches at garages is what you'd do anyway so you are using the eating time for charging! But I suppose taking a packed lunch and a flask to have while charging could also work.
@@HubNut wise. How much was the actual charging?
I spent £13 in total, but that's £13 more than I should have spent as charging is included.
@@moneyprofessional I live in Germany and motorway stations are stupidly expensive, for fuel, food and toilets.
We never stop at those, we always have a flask, cooler bag, sandwiches, drinks, etc.... When we have to stop, it's at a motorway parking place, they usually have (disgustingly filthy) toilets, but they are free.
Not bringing stuff is usually a rookie mistake and I'm amazed Mr. Hub Nut would do that. 😁
But we can't always be prepared for everything
26 minutes to 76%... I can fill up my Diesel 2009 1.6 golf in about 5 mins & get to anywhere I want in the country without stopping.
Did cost me £90 + to fill up the tank though.
I get the environmental help of an electric vehicle, & the cost(now) but quite frankly the convenience of being able to get anywhere in the country without actually having to stop (unless your bladder tells you you have too) is worth much of the extra coin.
Great to see you delving into EVs got one on order for next year so useful stuff even though I’m in Sydney..
Having my phone with enough juice is sometimes troublesome. I don;'t think I could live with a car when there is always the need to find a charging station.
As an Aber alumnus seeing the campus brings back memories, thanks Ian
I remember getting my first mobile no signal outside of the m25 now it works everywhere, almost, hopefully be the same with chargers soon
Yes London. 10% of the countries population, 95% of the resources. There again life expectancy is lower.
@@mbak7801 Sunbury on Thames don't you know, not the posh part though
I think that your alert at the last charging point was probably due to the famous Fiat electrical system. I've driven Fiats since 1980 but the electric warnings pop up on the more recent ones. There one minute then gone the next. The weirdest one was when it stated that it could not detect the key and asked me to press a sign on the touchscreen. Of course I didn't and the car was fine when I got in again. It never fails to keep me on my toes. The 500e is doing great, a lot better than I thought. But, as I tell my car salesman, it's too small for me.
Brilliant video as always 👍🏻 Public charging is slowly getting better, but it’s depressing that funds which could be used to improve it are instead going on technology to police the extended ULEZ zone to punish those who can’t afford EVs or choose to run classic cars.
What a ridiculous comment! There's no link between the two things.
To punish those who can't afford a 20 year old Yaris.
Great overview! Loved this one. And indeed, google streetview may help you a little with this. Costs less time than it saves :)
To replace my work van, an EV would be a nightmare. But, as our personal car, it would be perfect. We do maybe 3000 miles a year, so it would sit charging and probably be always, at 100% so yes, like you say, it suits certain applications.
As a side note, I'm sure the cost of recharging, is offset by the costs of snacks and drinks to consume whilst you wait for recharging !!
Ha ha I noticed the high consumption of junk food while enforced hanging around too.
Unless your car has a LFP battery you can't leave them charged at 100% for long periods
Reminds me of taking long motorcycle trips, except a motorcycle can be filled up in a lot faster. Interesting how the network is kinda there but the problem is now there are enough other EVs on the road you have to queue for a spot.
@@royblackburn1163 I think electric motorcycles will actually be more viable for this sort of thing soon. There's already ones out there that have removeable batteries so if someone were to come up with a standard battery format I could see it working like Calor Gas bottles where you rock up, drop off a dead battery, swap ina full one and take off in the same amount of time it would take to fill a petrol tank.
you are the number 1 on unseeing the flaws on cars. bless your heart
To be fair he's had a lot of practice and drives an Invacar for fun...
Absolutely brilliant video Ian 👍 well at least you got home and it didn't break down most cars would have done still.a lovely car brilliant
Why would most cars break down? I've never had been left stranded in 23 years of driving.
Nice video. Love the diversity 🎉
Thanks for showing us how the other half live.
I've put diesel in my 15 year old Citroen 5 times this year, which I think is the same number of refuelling events the FIAT had on this one trip.
796 miles on the last tankful
No messages telling me that I need to service the fuel tank
This was much better charging than when you were on the road with the I-Pace Ian. It is the mindset of driving a car in a different way, that driving EV, for some it is already now, for some only in a few years when there is even more charging infrastructure and even more choice of EV cars.
EV range videos make me anxious and I could never put up with searching for chargers and then sitting around waiting for volts. However it was Interesting to see it in action (or inaction!).
Once you own an EV you gain confidence in the distance and charge required there is no getting anxious. When I first got my EV every time I dropped below 50% I started worrying but then realized I only charged to 75% so my range was double what I had driven on that charge. You learn pretty quickly what your car is capable of. I only had one experience where I drove 5+ km after the range indicator showed 0 km left, that was the result of counting on charger that when I arrived had been turned off.
Whilst some will moan that EV's aren't standard HubNut fayre, I will say that I found this video interesting, even if it is aa a reminder that EV's aren't quite there just yet. We could definitely replace one IC vehicle in our household, but the sheer cost of doing so for a local-use commuter car is a financial write off. For me, an EV would do 90% of the time, but I can't justify replacing an IC car that does 100% of what I need. Thirdly, I'm a coupe guy, and I don't want a small city car, or an SUV/Crossover - so I'm extremely limited in choice if I were to buy a new car, regardless of fuel type...
That could only be made better by putting it in a skip.
another great video has always Ian and miss hubnut and hublets and hubmutts 👍
excellent video! i love how youre being pragmatic about EV's saying that they arent for everyone, but EV's still have their place. Ppl need to do their homework to see if EV's are viable for them
My neice brought a Leaf and it’s good providing she dosent leave the city. Road trip to mothers (80km on way) is hard to her to do as a return trip. Mums in a small town with 1 charger, often out of service. But what amazes me more is the fact she rarely uses the heater or demister in winter, and seldom the aircon in summer for how much it kills her range. Cost wise we’ve worked it out her leaf using public charging (no off street parking at home for her) and my diesel Passat are neck and neck for running costs per I’m…but I don’t stress over heated seats or aircon. Her electric a move forward? I’m not so sure. Here in NZ most of our power is hydro generated, other countries not so much…so have we just shifted our tailpipe emissions to another source? And that’s before we even get into recycling a car instead of digging up material for new batteries.
Love your coverage mate, they are doable for sure…but as always compromises are involved. Do the switch by all means if you life electric cars…just don’t do it on the short sighted belief you are saving the planet (or your wallet long term….wait till your battery degrades)
My wife drives an electric Mokka e & she loves it . Such a smooth & comfortable car with a great range . YTD it's cost just over £300 to run which is fantastic conside ring the last car ,a Mazda cx3 cost on average £50-£60 per week 😏 love you're channel keep up the good work & merry Christmas to you ,Miss hubbnut & the hubblets 🎅👍
But how much was the car?
@@gaddmeister if it’s on a PCP lease like most cars are, it should be similar per month over the term due to the higher resale value offsetting the higher purchase price. Of course if you planned to buy the rest of the car at the end of the term that’s a different story!
This series is really good. I think the advantages of EVs are fairly obvious and heavily promoted, the downsides, not so much. The real world application, as per the HubNut testing is invaluable information prior to purchase or lease. One thing though, I would argue that it is not your fault that you cannot charge at home. Loads of folks dont have driveways and local authorities are quite slow in rolling out on street charging.
Great video. Great content. Although not my cup of tea due to the cost and stress of it all. I remember as a rep for one company I could only use Shell. I was on fumes trying to find a station. Its really not a nice feeling.
Interesting review, thanks. BEVs obviously have their place, but I couldn't help feeling that you were 'forcing it to fit' a little. It seemed like a lot of faff for a 3-4 hour journey.
I still can't help wondering how the comparative cost per mile will work out when the disparity between domestic 5% VAT and "public" charging points (they are all private) 20% VAT is levelled up through the now-compulsory smart meters on home charging stations. And when all of the other ICE taxation losses are added back into BEV motoring. The cost will be about the same or slightly more I reckon.
I can't get over how absolutely silent the drive is. I don't know if I could ever get used to that but it intrigues me so much.
Yes that struck me too. This was the first time I've seen and heard an EV from inside the car and the driving experience impressed me.
But I would not be able to cope with the faff of charging with accompanying hanging around, the range anxiety and the extra forward planning and mental maths necessary.
I wasn't particularly keen on EVs until I test drove a Fiat 500e last December and took delivery of mine 2 weeks later! I now find motoring much more relaxing than with my previous small petrol warmish hatch because of one-pedal driving Range mode and the lack of engine noise.
Range is not an issue if you stick to local round trips up to 100 miles but there is no way I would have bought this car if I couldn't charge at home or had to ever rely on public chargers for longer trips.
Statistically, EVs are noisier than a similar price ICE car though. Something to keep in mind.
@@GoldenCroc Citation needed.
@@michaelwright2986 You can watch "Teslabjörn" on youtube if you want easily accessible data, hes got tests of most of the EVs availble in the european market.
Otherwise, there are tons of car mags that test noise when they review cars which you can find.
You can also try out some cars in the price brackets you are interested in for yourself, its pretty self evident really if you drive them. The ICE cars which even have an audiable engine at stable, "low" speeds these days are relatively few. Cheers mate.
Owning an EV is tempting, but on a day like today with the damp and cold North East England weather I drove my diesel car with the heater on the Aircon and heated screens. Both my wife and I had the heated seats on also. (Yes we are old and arthritic). How would that effect the range? This is normal winter driving for us. Also it took about five minutes to put 70 quid of diesel in the tank. So as tempting as they are until the range and price problems are sorted I will be sticking to my diesel. I did order a Toyota hybrid 7 months ago but cancelled it last week after I was told 2 more months to delivery.
This is the best time of year for EV’s, I set mine to preheat to 21°C before I get in.
Great video nice to see real world use. I 100% agree with your comments about electric isn't for everyone but they are still trying. The amazing thing is that companies like volvo are about to start production of electric heavy tractor units. How viable those will be in the long run we shall see but with the about to be massive uptake in eVehicles the charging infrastructure is gonna have to get better quick or the current situation will get worse.
Imagine what an affordable EV Berlingo would be like as a fresh design.
A flat floor for the battery pack and hub motors would allow an enormous amount of interior space, if they used a cab forward design.
Great video. Although I have to convert your miles per kWh to kilometres lol on the one road trip I have done with my atto3 I started looking for a charger at 20% battery. Our chargers are roughly every 75ks apart on theain highways which you will be familiar with what they are like. My car will do 300ks on the highway 400 around town
Interesting video, thanks Ian. New toy, all the fun. For local-ish use (i.e. Most use for most people), EVs are good but costly to get into. They need to sort the infrastructure out and give a bit more range because sitting eating in the car eating a sandwich waiting for a charge in 8 deg temp is a novelty that will wear off. Think I'd take the train for that kind of mission if this is the future of longer distance travel. Is that what 'they' want us to do?
Yes, medium distance journeys are better with trains than cars, so long as the coverage is there. The problem is that it’s a question of coverage for both chargers and train networks. If you can travel reasonably directly to your destination trains are better, but with large connection detours or a long journey from the station a car becomes preferable.
Well, given the choice between convenient and affordable train and driving, for longish and long journeys, I'm for the train every time: the food's much better while you're in motion, and nobody pulls you over for using your laptop on the train. The complement is short term hire of little urban e vehicles at your destination, if local public transport won't do it.
Plug in hybrid is the best option so far. Hoping in future charging points will grow and battery tech will improve in next 5 to 10 years but so far plugin hybrid is the best choice
Personally I am tired of hauling around both ICE and BEV in a car, to me it’s one or the other, and I chose BEV! I am done with changing oils and other fluids.
Id love to have an EV but the initial cost and what seems to be a constant pain in the a** having to charge would put me off. Even if you are not driving “600 miles a day”, I think the novelty of finding chargers all the time would soon wear off and become really tedious. Really only works if you can charge at home and only ever make local short journeys. But for such a large investment I’d want more from a car than that! Batteries and charging are the achilles heel.
I love watching your channel on all things ICE cars but as a BEV owner as you indicate it's the way to go. My Kia is brilliant went to visit our daughter on Sunday 210 mile round trip, M25, M3 then cross country to Newbury temp down to 5° and got home with 50 miles to spare. Driving at 65mph when I could, heated seats on and temp set at 22° centigrade we returned 4miles per kilowatt hour and if you can charge at home it can be as low as 12p per Kw.
Thanks for the review, Ian. It's confirmed my suspicion it would be great choice if I had home charging and a conventional vehicle as well. Otherwise, I'd hate the inconvenience of it.
We've gone down to a one car family so that car has to be an all-rounder. EVs are not that yet.
These videos on real.world.EV road trips.are awesome. Totally wipes away the anxiety of EV ownership. I can see an EV in the future. On most petrol cars in North America, when parked and key on / engine off if you set the handbrake then the head lights will go off.
It seems like a nice little car, but I think the need to take extended breaks to charge it would drive me crazy. I drive a hybrid and am used to putting in 10 gallons and driving for 3 weeks or 500 miles (US) without having to worry about it. It just seems too expensive when I can drive for a month for less than $200 including insurance, maintenance and fuel right now.
Hybrid cars make perfect sense, battery for town centres and very low speed, zero emissions and fuel economy. Petrol or diesel for highway travel when the engine gets a chance to warm up and is at its most fuel efficient and less polluting.
#metoo Toyota Yaris Hybrid here with 70 mpg.
@@hondamonkeyboy In the US, so mine is a Prius C (Aqua in Japan). It has the Yaris chassis so suspension parts are super cheap, but it is on a longer wheelbase (99in) than the Yaris hybrid seen in Europe. Also, remember that a UK gallon is 1.2 US gallons, so we are neck and neck for economy! I probably push mine harder because of where I commute.
When you say the charging infrastructure is getting better, it is in reality getting worse because although the number of chargers is increasing, the number of new electric vehicles using it is increasing at a greater rate, resulting in greater wait times and oversubscription. When I got my electric car nearly 7 years ago, not only was it generally free, you never, ever had to wait. The only delay to charging generally then was the charger parking space being iced.
I have learned my lesson now and only use my electric car within it's tethered to home charger range and never use it on a long run.
Instead I use my 14 year old Mercedes E Class diesel, with a brimmed range of 650 miles st 70 mph and an on a run consumption of 51 mpg. The perfect tool for the long distance drive job !
Like you and Mr. Furiousdriving the virtues of a a not new Mercedes wagon make moving on a hard sell. The C 300 e seems like an ideal car offering electric for all local driving. Except.... err, £46,000.....
@@peterbroad1772 i moved on but fortunately having seen reality for myself and having a fall back position, I now use both cars in the environments they are best suited for. I like going to the Scottish Highlands from the NE of England and it is either my diesel Merc or My diesel camper van, depending on if it is hotels or camp sites, wouldn't dream of taking the electric car, not worth the hassle and it is just as expensive now, so what is the point ? We still do most of our miles locally and to do this the electric car is the obvious choice every time, still being on the 5 p Octopus go home tarrif until Feb. The moral of the story is horses for courses.
Nice and interesting video, funny enough there's a Health Spa owned by that person who you mentioned near to where live.
I have the la prima in celestial blue, had it 4 months and already done 7000 miles. Im not a million miles away in welshpool. I regularly drive to great Yarmouth charging once at rugby services...
Brilliant.
Great video
Outstanding review! I am from Costa Rica. You can see quite a few 500 e's imported from the USA into the country roaming around in our chocked full of cars roads! Being 100% electric vehicles they only pay 45% import duty and display a green license plate. The other cars pay 67% import duty. These Fiat's still command a steep price of US$15,000 or more vs US$12,500 for a 2017 500 POP or Sport being used cars. Albeit, we would seldomly use the heater we would always have the A/C on! The 500 would make a cute companion to our household, however, the "e" would limit us for a city car only. There is no chance of taking it to the coast. However, there is no nicer car around, period!
There’s chargers in Newtown, between Aber and Shrewsbury. Wife has friends near Aber, we are in the Midlands and she has used it as the halfway stop many times.
Cool. Which company?
@@HubNut pod point Tesco. 50, 25 and 7 kWh chargers
@@simonbroadhurst5091 would that be kW (power)?
Whilst I can’t fuel my diesel car at formula one Pitt stop speeds, it’s a damn sight quicker than charging time or waiting for charging time. 😂. The range roulette would panic me more than I would want to be panicked.
I really wish more funding went to the charging infrastructure, take a look at the Gridserve charging forecourt... looks marvellous with cafes inside etc.
Very interesting video, especially as my brother contemplates replacing his worn out 27 year-old Nissan Maxima with a BEV. He liked the 2nd gen Leaf, but it doesn't have the latest charging tech (in NZ at least), so I'm trying to convince him to buy a 4 or 5 year-old Toyota Camry hybrid. I believe we're still at least one technological leap in chemical battery advancement that doesn't rely on Lithium and gives us both much better range and an increase in charging speed, so he may as well enjoy the best of both worlds by going the hybrid route for the next 5 or so years.
I've been an ICE man all the way and very much enjoy the sound of an engine, but after recently renting a Corolla Hybrid wagon in France, the impact on fuel consumption with the mix of ICE and EV was a compelling argument to go the hybrid route sometime in the future.
At some point, PHEV, BEV and Hybrid cars are going to be old enough and dare I say bland to be classified as Modern Hubnut cars (the older fleet members will be Classic Hubnut cars)
I have driven hundreds of thousands of miles in Toyota Camry 4 cylinder hybrids in taxi service in Boston, Massachusetts USA. Amazing automobiles. Less frequent brake lining replacements and better fuel economy make for a significant savings over initial outlay. They take an indifferent driver licking and keep on ticking! Plus, synthetic oil changes. 👌👍🚕🔝
@@jwsoaresjones1560 - thanks for your feedback, that's most appreciated 🙂
I had a second gen leaf and it was a lovely car, especially this time of year when you could set it to defrost itself and preheat the seats and steering wheel 😀
I liked this video and I think the main point of it which you repeated several times is that this is not for everybody. This is for certain people that drive predictable distances daily where the routine of charging can be built in to your day or for those that can put in a home charger. You have also brought up the great point of the lack of charging stations and the price of new electric cars. I think that as long as the motoring public can ease into using an electric car, it will work out. Let's give it a chance and work out the kinks in the system. There is a person that has a Nissan Leaf electric here in the USA where I work in a city environment and they live in an apartment with no nearby charger. They have owned that car for years and they are happy with it. Let's stop the bickering and coexist as there is room for both and let's see where it leads us. Thanks for the video.
There's a DC charger at the Tesco in Newtown I've used before if that helps. The problem with Shrewsbury is twofold, the Gridserve at Dobbies is a single unit that rarely works and doesn't support contactless, and the charging network in Wales is so sparse that it's a popular place to stop. Wales really does need to up its game when it comes to DC chargers though.
FOI. There are 4 chargers in Newtown main car park and at least one at Tesco's. I'm assuming you came that way. And a new cafe to try with lovely views of the river Severn.
Nice down to earth video on the driving style changes and planning needed for EV use on a long journey. I do wonder how EVs will fair over here in Oz, with the distances being much further.
Having lived in Australia, in the country, I assume that they'll be great in cities, where the majority of people live, perhaps viable on the Pacific Highway and other heavily used roads, and impossible in those places where range anxiety is a fact of life when you're driving an ICE vehicle.
Hi, yes, I agree, I am sure something will be worked out. For long journeys we have the 'stop. revive. survive' campaign to get people to stop every two hours. If they have sufficient charging stations in the rest stops, it may just work and will get better as demand dictates. People will actually have to pull over unlike with traditional cars. The cities will probably just be an issue of providing sufficient charging points for increasing EV demand.
@@phillipstothard Yes, I've always liked to stop fairly frequently. In most parts of Australia it would probably eventually be economical to have charging stations about as far apart as petrol stations on the Eyre Highway.
This is not a dig at your channel Ian.
I don't do many long trips, but with my little MG TF, i'm getting really good MPG without the worries of constantly checking battery levels.
Yes at the moment there is a lack of chargers, but it does not change your time you have to charge, there could be thousands of chargers but you still have to stop and do it for that same time. And waste time searching to charge
All those flashing warnings, braking to regen, All too much hastle.
I've just got the trusty fuel guage and 5 minutes in a garage to top up if needed.
Get rid of all the kafubble and I would be interested.
Why do they not put canopies over the chargers ? I watched a chap trying to plug his electric car in last week at services on the a1 in the rain, he was having difficulty and getting soaked seems ridiculous.
The difference with any EV is that your eyes and thoughts are constantly on range and where you can charge enough to get where you're going, whereas in a petrol or diesel car you only need to look at the fuel gauge occasionally, or even never until the low fuel light comes on, in which case you're probably never more than a couple of miles from a petrol station for a 5-minute 'recharge' of your tank. I didn't time it, but I'd guess that the majority of time in the video was dedicated to working out whether you had enough charge and where you could re-charge, assuming you could find a vacant operational charger, and in effect how it's 'possible to use one for longer journeys'. We're now being told that the manufacture of an EV and its batteries has probably caused more environmental damage before it has even turned a wheel on the road that a modern diesel or petrol will cause in its lifetime, the only advantage would seem to be cleaner air in cities. Yesterday I did well over 300 miles at work in my car. My 16-hour day could have been an 18-hour day with an EV, no thanks, not for people like me at least!
Battery electrics absolutely have higher manufacturing emissions, but after 3-6 years of driving (depending how much driving you do) the electric has lower lifetime emissions than a combustion car.
I drive long distances (done about 55k in the last two years) and my company car is a BMW 330e, and I wouldn't want to go back to a non hybrid now. My use case isn't really what hybrids are built for, but it works really well for me, and I love the response, smoothness and quietness the car gives. A slightly bigger battery hybrid would be the sweet spot for me personally, but I am tempted by an EV6 or IONIQ5 next December when I chop my car in. My average MPG over those 55k is nearly 70mpg
If a lot of your mileage is on a run have a look at some of the Mercedes diesel plug-in hybrids. Pretty efficient things. The EV6 and Ioniq5 seem good but take a decent test drive first. They are sensitive to road surface and condition changes and don't feel planted like a 3 series. Nothing wrong with them - just that if you're expecting solid stability on our sometimes dodgy roads they can get a little less settled - especially where lorries have made those sunken lines in the inside lane. I've quite enjoyed my Kuga PHEV. Its no rocketship but it is efficient. Winter 25-30 miles ev, summer 35-40 and if you're at 70mph on a run it returns 55-60mpg depending on conditions. Again its not planted like a 3 series and the interior isn't so solid (though its nice enough and well laid out) but for day to day economy its right up there.
Unlikely I'll ever have an EV but this was very interesting Ian, thanks for sharing.
I love this channel
Well done Ian such a balance view. I agree with you about Electric v petrol / diesel, I personally do think there will be a multi fuel solution whatever that may be, not just electric. There are many reasons why the solution that is being put forward at the moment will not work for everyone. The future is going to be interesting has we move to the new.
The point that MANY people seem to be missing is the fact that - irrespective of whether the current solution 'works for everyone' - or not.....that IS the route we're going down....!
...The sale of new ICE cars is to be banned in the UK from 2030!
We currently have no other options and, presumably, ICE cars will rapidly become much more expensive, difficult to repair and re-fuel and so on, from that point onwards...
So... I'm not sure quite what all the 'nay sayers' are going to do about their personal transport going forward......
..... but I strongly suspect they'll be buying an ELECTRIC CAR!!!
(well, or catching a lot more electric buses.......!!)
@@andymccabe6712 You seem to be missing the fact this car is hopeless for many people and there's a good 15 years before many people will need to move to an EV. 15 years of technological improvement. You can pay the early adopter tax if you like.
@@andymccabe6712 You seem to be missing the point. Multi fuel does not mean that we would be sticking with fossil fuels. But the head long rush down the electric route seems to be the only solution that is being seen by those taken in by the hype. Hydrogen combustion engine are another possible route and one that could be more suited to some areas of the transport world. At the moment there are issues with this but with time and investment this may be one option.
Not sure if the electric car is good for one's diet...
My gaffer has an Audi Q4 e-tron. Our main site is 141 miles from the office. In cold weather the range is 138 miles. Driving that car, and watching this 500 video, make me appreciate my 20 year old diesel Saab that manages 800 miles on a tankful of fuel, and doesn't suffer range anxiety. I can appreciate the benefits of electric cars, but I also know I'll never own one.
Perhaps your boss just got the wrong car for his needs? Plenty of higher range cars out there……
Even if I had the money for a new car, and as much as I love the idea of EV, I'm not sure I could handle the range anxiety and hanging about. Come the lottery win, I might get to find out. On the other hand, my 2cv passed the MOT yesterday with no advisories!
Latest Tesla 3 or Ioniq 6 are great with range, even in winter. 400+km at highway speeds (130km) is no problem and 500 on normal driving is also not unreal. And 15min charge from 10 to 80%? Wow!
So only problem is money now :D
What's the gadget on the windscreen? And what was the 18 on the driver display indicating? And on the central display at one point it read BBC Radio 3. Why?
Onto fit a dashcam to their cars. 18 was probably a speed limit. Or at least it thought it was a speed limit... It's rubbish at that. Not averse to a bit of Radio 3.
I feel your pain regarding the lights; our 2010 Subaru goes one better - as soon as you put the key in the ignition, the lights come on, you don't even need the key to be fully in! With the same options, Auto or On, it's a real pain when stopped and waiting in the car.
I've only experienced range anxiety once in 18 months of ID. 3 ownership. It was though on the hottest day in years back in the summer, and 40 odd miles on the M4 in 38 degree heat with no aircon was NOT pleasant. I'm still of the opinion that EV's are fantastic for 95% of the motoring we do, but utterly useless for the rest when I envisage hiring a petrol vehicle.
I cannot imagine a holiday trip to Scotland or France in one of these. It would take a lifetime to get there, If I had one it would be commutes only and a normal car for high mileage trips
There's a couple of guys here on TH-cam that have done exactly that in EVs. One of them towing a caravan. No problems...
@@combatgerbil3262 well I guess as long as you don't mind stopping for an hour every 100 miles or so. I saw a challenge, a 2cv versus a tesla to st tropez from Swindon. The 2cv won by about 5 hours as I recall. It depends on your priorities, it just wouldn't be for me.
@@steveworth544 is that how you think EVs work?🤣🤣🤣
@@steveworth544 my current EV has a real world range of 280 mileson a charge. I have yet to take a journey requiring me to travel further than that.
@@combatgerbil3262 that would definitely be more practical. The problem is purchase cost for the larger EVs and the problem of finding a working and available charger. Of course, we haven't mentioned the Co2 cost of manufacturing an Ev compared with an ICE car and the difficulty of battery disposal at end of life.
Thank you, a very informative and a real life review. I think I will stick with my 5 year old 62 true average mpg diesel Peugeot 308 for a few more years. I think I would love an electric car and hopefully the niggles will be sorted by then Just out of interest can a tow bar be fitted to EVs with all that battery gubbings underneath.
Enjoyed all your videos Ian, l really couldn’t be messing about with and electric vehicle, who the heck has time to wait that long to recharge, how frustrating is it when your internet is on the go slow, you get annoyed even if it takes slightly longer than normal, same difference.
This is what life will be like for most people in flats without home charging, a constant faff with maths and endless searching for charging and long waits
Frustrating to watch this range anxiety. Thanks for sharing though. Coming to think that Audi and Porsche could be charged with 270kw, we are not quite there yet with the infrastructure.
Very interesting, I remember your Jag EV video which just reinforced my objections to buying an electric car. Since then I have mellowed, I see that an EV is totally fine for everyday motoring in the UK, even if you do a 100 mile daily commute... BUT you need off street parking with a home charging facility. Then it is peachy, plug it in and go to sleep while it charges on cheap leccy. No need to worry about finding a charging point and it's really cheap to get around. Trouble is so many of us don't have that luxury, so it means logistical planning and hanging around at charging points to complete your journey. It needs a sizable leap in technology like wireless charging roads or parking spaces, then we are talking the future. I'm going to hang on to my trusty petrol Skoda and see what happens before making the change.😉
You have summed up the situation for almost everybody exactly. A home charger would be essential to preserve my sanity, and they're not cheap. Big investment to move over to EV and most cannot afford it or are wary of it.
What’s the black thing stuck on the windscreen to the left of the rear view mirror? 🤔